Hate to Say I Told You so
by Child of the Wolves
Summary: Lily is seven, she lives in London with her mother, but one night mom leaves and doesn’t come back. Lily is sent away from her home to live with her father. Seven years later, her father dies and she is sent straight to Hogwarts. For holidays she goes h
1. The Good Bye

Title: Hate to Say I Told You So  
  
Author: Child of the Wolves  
  
Summery: Takes place when Lily is seven, she lives in London with her mother, and her father lives in New York. One night, Lily's mom leaves and doesn't come back and Lily is sent away from her home to live with her father. Seven years later, about a quarter through her fourth year at Polion, her wizarding school, her father dies of cancer and she is sent straight to Hogwarts to finish off the quarter. Once the quarter is finished Lily goes back to her mother for the winter holidays, but she's met with a surprise.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it... ext. ext. I hate disclaimers.  
  
***  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"-mpphh"  
  
"Lils!"  
  
"mpphfggh!"  
  
A small boy with dusty golden brown hair and tan skin pushes the half- asleep girl next to him. Freckles dot his nose and brow, and his deep liquid hazel eyes glitter with energy. The clock had long since struck 11 but the six-and-a-half-year-old was just getting started. His tiny hands grasp onto the blanket the small girl was curled up in. In one single motion, he pulls the blanket off her and grins madly as she opens her clear emerald green eyes and glares at him. She brushes her long brownish-red hair out of her eyes and sends a playful slap towards her friend. It was their first sleep over and they had agreed to stay up-- all night. But Lily had always been a hypocrite.  
  
"You fell asleep on me!" The small boy exclaims, his eyes dancing playfully.  
  
"I was resting my eyes, Sirius!" Lily replies, rolling her eyes at the obvious. "What else would I have been doing?"  
  
"uumm-hmm," Sirius smiles, and lies back down next to his friend, looking up at the ceiling. "So as I was saying, how do you think they get that hole into the bagels? I mean do you think that's a job, standing there all day and poking holes? 'Cuz if there is sign me u-" He stops as he is rudely interrupted with a snore- again. He sits up again and grabs his pillow with his strong little fingers, whacking her over the head with it repeatedly.  
  
"JUST RESTING MY EYES!" She exclaims, grabbing the pillow from him and adding it to hers. She rolls over, her eyelids drooping once more. "Now don't bother me, my eye's are tired and they'll be mad if you wake them."  
  
Sirius giggles madly and gets up, starting towards the door in search of a new pillow. His tiny hand grasps the bronze door handle and turns it, revealing a small cluttered room with drawn blinds and toys scattered all across the floor. It's nearly pitch black but he had been here so many times when it was light, he didn't need any. He makes his way to the hallway, opening a closet door and grabbing two blankets and a pillow, bring about 4 more of each toppling down.  
  
Shrugging the boy picks them all up, not noticing that the light from Lily's mother's room was showing from the crack next to the gray carpet. Too distracted with lifting his load, he doesn't hear the soft caressing voices from behind the door. He hurries back to the 'playroom' he and his best friend were 'sleeping' in. Quietly closing the door, he takes four of his pillows and stacks them up around him as a fort in the corner of the largest room in the house. Taking the blankets he covers himself efficiently until only a small hole big enough for him to get in and out of is visible near the back of his fort. Grinning, he takes the remaining two blankets and one pillow.  
  
A white form flies across the room and hits the small body on the bed straight on. Lily jumps up, looking from side to side trying to see what had hit her. Her jade, almond-shaped eyes land upon the cushy white pillow. Her eyebrows furrow as she quickly gets up, all thoughts of sleep lost, and chucks the pillow back across the room to the center of Sirius's fort, crushing it in upon itself. Sirius yelps with glee as the two start their pillow fight.  
  
***  
  
Half a year later, the shrill ring of the phone sounds through the perfect silence of the Black house. Thirty minutes ago the clock had sounded 6 AM.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Sirius's mother receives no answer.  
  
"Hello.?"  
  
Sighing, she starts to take the receiver from her ear to crash it back to the rest of the phone when her sharp ears pick up a snuffling sound.  
  
"Hello?" another snuffling sound and something that sounds like a sob. Finally a voice, broken and hoarse.  
  
"S-Siri-us?" The high-pitched childish voice on the other end of the receiver is instantly recognized as Lily Evans.  
  
"Lily dear, is that you?"  
  
"Mommy's not here!"  
  
***  
  
By 9 that morning, Lily lies on the Black's couch with Sirius, tear stains visible on her cheeks. The two had sat there for a half hour, saying nothing. They didn't need to. Speech was below them now. Sirius cups his hand in Lily's and Lily squeezes it tightly, sniffing again. The doorknob jingles and Mr. Black walks through the door, his light clear blue eyes sorrowful, and his disobedient golden brown hair jutting out in all directions in an almost comical matter. He turns to his wife and gazes into her liquid brown eyes.  
  
"Cigarettes and b-i-r-t-h control pills under the counter in her bathroom, and no Julie." He says, confirming his wives worst fear.  
  
The two children continue to stare emptily up at the two adults, unknowing of what had happened. Unknowing of what had happened the night when they had shared that crazy pillow fight which had resulted in the breaking of a porcelain lamp. Just unknowing.  
  
Both adults turn to the small girl, only barely seven years old. The girl who could no longer stay here without a guardian.  
  
***  
  
Lily and Sirius sit by the huge window in the cushioned chairs of the airport, staring at the rainfall down on the deporting planes. Lily blinks her large clear jade colored eyes and a single tear falls down her cheek. The first tear she had shed since the morning of her mother's disappearance. Since her mother's betrayal. Since her abandonment.  
  
"You'll come back," Sirius pipes up in what he hopes sounds like a cheery voice. He has to be strong. If he wasn't strong Lily couldn't be strong. "You'll come back and you'll live here again with me. You'll just spend the summer there that's all." He says, smiling, holding back the crystalline tears threatening to overtake his hazel eyes. "You just wait and see, and I'll be able to tell you I told you so."  
  
"Flight 5938 coach may now begin boarding."  
  
People in heavy coats with big luggage bags start to board the flight. Sirius's mother pecks her husband on the cheek and mutters her goodbye, even though she'd be returning in about a day. She starts to walk towards Lily so they could board and meet Lily's father in New York. The small girl embraces her best friend clenching her tiny fists around Sirius's neck.  
  
"..L-.Lily. air. air!"  
  
Sheepishly, the freckled girl finally lets go. Lifting her arms to her neck, she unlatches the back of a simple silver chain and re-latches it around Sirius's. "Keep it for me for when I come back." She says, smiling through salty tears.  
  
"Final boarding for flight 5938 coach. Final boarding for flight 5938 coach."  
  
"Come Lily, dear, we have to go." Sirius's mother grasps Lily softly by the hand and walks with her to the tunnel entrance, which would lead them onto the plane. Turning back at the entrance, the seven-year-old waves with her free hand and whispers words, which could only be lip-read. Good-Bye.  
  
***  
  
How is it for the first chapter? Good? Bad? It's the longest I've ever written, normally my chapters are like 2 pages longest, but this one is about 4. I tried to make them not seem so mature- they're only seven after all, so they wouldn't be hugging each other, telling each other it would be OK. They'd be optimists about it like only little kids can and say we'll meet again or something. And they wouldn't get what Lily's mom was doing.  
  
Anyways, review, I thrive of participation so if you want me to continue I'll have to have a review. Flamers or reviews, I don't care, but if you flame you have to give me flowers to even it out. Because I said so. Ha. I can only really go to the second chapter without reviews so push that little button and I'll stop raving. ( Deal? Deal. 


	2. The Return

Title: Hate to Say I Told You So  
  
Author: Child of the Wolves  
  
Summery: Takes place when Lily is seven, she lives in London with her mother, and her father lives in New York. One night, Lily's mom leaves and doesn't come back and Lily is sent away from her home to live with her father. Seven years later, about a quarter through her fourth year at Polion, her wizarding school, her father dies of cancer and she is sent straight to Hogwarts to finish off the quarter. Once the quarter is finished Lily goes back to her mother for the winter holidays, but she's met with a surprise.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it... ext. ext. I hate disclaimers.  
  
"Lily! Hey Lils!"  
  
A single fiery auburn red head turned in the huge mass of navy blue robes. Two third years raced by her, nearly knocking her over. Rolling her eyes, the red headed fourteen-year-old makes her way towards the source of the voice. Fifth year prefect of Silverthorne, her house. Her house, at Polion School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
Finally, the teen makes her way there. Obviously this was not the same little girl who had given her best friend her necklace seven years ago. Her hair is a brighter red, wavy, and reaching her hips. Curves are all too apparent though freckles are less so. The only obvious thing that had stayed the same were her glittering eyes. Those deep jade eyes.  
  
"uummhmm?"  
  
"Marverine wants to see you. He didn't look happy."  
  
A shocked look on her face, making her way to the front of the school, to where the headmaster resided. Why would he be unhappy? She never did anything wrong. or at least never got caught. Finally, after what seems to be ages, the girl reaches a painting, a fiery gryphon image upon it. The gryphon snorts at her. Its golden-flecked eyes so obviously demand a reason or a password. 'Probably both with my luck.'  
  
"um. I'm here to see Professor Marverine?" Another snort from the gryphon tell her that's not quite what he wanted to hear. Cocking an eyebrow, she repeats in a shaky voice, "so.. um.. open sesame?" Nothing.  
  
"Oh move!" She exclaims, reaching for her wand. But before she can do anything the gryphon, which somehow doesn't seem as proud anymore, swings the portrait aside, letting her open the door hidden behind it.  
  
Shrugging she puts her wand away, slightly unhappy she didn't get to blast the annoying portrait to pieces.  
  
"ahh.. Lily."  
  
The voice comes from one of the corners of the room. Designed in the shape of a hexagon, the main attraction of the room is obviously on the largest wall. Hanging, gazing fiercely at her is a picture of the same gryphon. This time not as fiery, but just as proud, if not more so, and graceful. Very graceful. Each corner of the room falls into shadows in the point where the two walls meet, a desk resides in the middle. A door lays slightly ajar behind the desk, which Lily could only assume, led to his sleeping quarters. The walls seem enchanted to portray a sky, though obviously not their own for now a starry night glimmers all around the room, though outside the sun beats down on her fellows in Herbology.  
  
And hidden in one of the shadowy corners of the starry room was Professor Marverine. He was thin but tall and gave the impression of one who had once been very intimidating indeed, but had gone to seed. He wears deep purple velvet looking robes adorned with small silver stars. His eyes are a light hazel color, and were always dancing, like they were laughing at a joke only he could understand. Whenever Lily looked at those eyes, she remembered somebody, but the name of who that was always slipped her mind.  
  
"I could keep you here for small talk and tea, or I could tell you right out why I called you here, Lily. You choose."  
  
Though small talk seems a bit safer "Tell me," comes out of her mouth before she can manage to think about it too much.  
  
"Your father, Lily. He's gone."  
  
***  
  
A week later, the redhead sits in a speeding train, looking out at the passing scenery. After having spent 4 hours on a plane, she's not quite sure how she feels about getting off. Stretching her legs sounded good, but this whole new school thing was a bit odd. She wasn't even going to see her mother. She was being sent straight to this Hogwarts school. She sniffs a bit, but refuses to cry. She never cries. She mourned for her father, but she didn't cry. It was something Lily Evans just didn't do.  
  
Sighing, she shifts positions and turns her head to a large Maine Coon cat, brown with darker brown tabby markings and white paws and chest. His ear tufts, an ivory color, as is his tail tip. His purrs are heard clear across the compartment. Leaning over, she scratches him behind his left ear and he sways his head to one side, giving her a large view of the side of his head, as though saying 'be my guest.'  
  
She almost smiles, but simply settles with a comment about him mooching off her and leans back to her seat. But she still stares at him with loving eyes. He was the only really family she had now.  
  
***  
  
"Remus, what are you so excited about?"  
  
"Didn't you hear Sirius? New girl."  
  
"Say no more." Replies a grinning Sirius, seven years older than he used to be, when he knew his first childhood friend, a small girl with glittering green eyes and a sassy attitude. "'Ey James, loan Remus your crappy cologne. He's trying to score with the new girl."  
  
A messy black head emerges from one of the four-poster beds, light blue eyes glittering wickedly. "It'll take more than cologne for Remus, and that stuff's expensive, man!" Soon after his smart aleck reply he receives a mouth full of pillow. "Well wasn't that uncalled for!" He yells at Remus's back.  
  
"He'll be back to apologize." At a snort from Sirius, James gets out of his bed, finally, and starts getting ready. Clean clothes. no wait. Those were dirty. No wait. clean? No.  
  
"Who cares, Prongs," exclaims Sirius, seeing his friends dilemma. "They all smell the same by the end of the day anyways." Obviously he was taking his belief to an extreme, to prove a point he had been hiding his clothes from the house-elves, his clothes currently resemble something of the sort of wet pigskin, but without the cleanliness.  
  
Taking his best friends advice for once, James slips on a T shirt and pants, pulling his robes on over them, and runs hectically around the room like he does every day five minutes before class, making sure he knew where his wand was. ("Stupid thing hides from me")  
  
Sirius himself starts down the stairs to the common room, and leaves through the portrait, conveniently forgetting to mention that Remus put it on the mantle last night when James tried to see if it was possible to transfigure somebody halfway between an elephant and a submarine.  
  
***  
  
"'ey Moony, what's up?" Sirius exclaims with more pizzazz that should have been shown on a Monday morning at breakfast.  
  
"New girl's here," exclaims Remus excitedly. He always liked to examine the new kids, especially the girls, especially the ones who had been sorted into his house, and were conveniently in his year. Yes, especially those ones.  
  
"And what does she rate?" Sirius asks, flashing his smile once more before grabbing onto some French toast. Remus always rated them on a scale from 1 to 10. 10 meaning, if you touch her, you die, 1-meaning send her back she's broken.  
  
"No clue, she hasn't shown herself yet." He replies, craning his neck above everybody, getting a good look at the entrance hallway. After falling twice from the bench to the hard stone, he gives up and gets up to go show James where his wand is.  
  
Upon finishing his breakfast, Sirius grabs his bag, nonchalantly walking to Charms. He had a whole two minutes to get there. No problem. He was good.  
  
"WHAM."  
  
Papers fly everywhere as he looks up from the ground rubbing his head, about to yell at whoever had run into him for giving him a headache and taking away his opportunity to trip on purpose for a few laughs when he finally sees who had run into him at full speed. A girl around his age, with deep emerald green eyes and long bright red hair. "Lily?" He asks, a questionable look upon his boyish face.  
  
Looking up, Lily stares at him. His eyes. They're so familiar. Light hazel, and always dancing, like they knew something you didn't. "Sirius?" She asks, baffled clearly. "Sirius!" She instantly jumps on him, squishing him, wringing him around the neck.  
  
"Lils.. air!"  
  
Eventually, she lets go, grinning madly. "I didn't know you go here." She says nonchalantly. "Ugh you smell awful." She giggles.  
  
"I could say the same thing to you. are you the new girl?" Sirius replies, ignoring her scent comment.  
  
She nods her head. "I've come to live with my mom again."  
  
"Why?" He asks, his childish face cocked to the side. He looks seven again.  
  
"We should get to Charms, we'll be late" She exclaims, looking at her watch. Jumping up, she holds out a hand and he takes it, standing up, starting to gather his books.  
  
"Oh your not in trouble. Your only late if the bell rings, before that you have no reason to hurry."  
  
A clear crisp note rings throughout the school and Sirius's eyes get a bit wider. "That'd be us late."  
  
***  
  
A minute later, both walk into the classroom, red in the face, Lily receiving quite a few stares. Sirius, obviously enjoying the attention. Plopping down next to Remus with Lily on his other side. Leaning over to him, Sirius whispers, "Definitely a 10."  
  
***  
  
Yup. Cheesy huh? Not the best of all but I'm in a freakishly happy mood, which means nothing good can come of it. Oh well. I might re-write it later. I tried to make it pretty long so tell me what you think of that too.  
  
Thanks to my first reviewers! I love you all. Buwaha.  
  
Anyways, remember to click the little button and tell me how much you think it sucks, and if you don't I'll be forced to come after you with rabid hamsters. Beware the hamsters. 


	3. The Destructive Door

Title: Hate to Say I Told You So  
  
Author: Child of the Wolves  
  
Summery: Takes place when Lily is seven, she lives in London with her mother, and her father lives in New York. One night, Lily's mom leaves and doesn't come back and Lily is sent away from her home to live with her father. Seven years later, about a quarter through her fourth year at Polion, her wizarding school, her father dies of cancer and she is sent straight to Hogwarts to finish off the quarter. Once the quarter is finished Lily goes back to her mother for the winter holidays, but she's met with a surprise.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it... ext. ext. I hate disclaimers.  
  
***  
  
"Mr. Black. Out. Now."  
  
"But it was only a little jo-"  
  
"Out! Now!" Barks the unhappy Professor McGonagall.  
  
The dark eyed boy marches out of the classroom, a nonchalant attitude in his stride, his eyes glittering with the usual mischief. He had only been trying to make Lily laugh. She hadn't let a peep out of her since Charms when he lit his hair on fire by 'accident.'  
  
She seemed to have gone into a stupor when he had asked why she moved back again. Now she only smiled half-heartedly at his futile attempts to make her face light up with laughter as it used to. Now she was shooting him a glance, which clearly says, you don't deserve this, but it's still entertaining.  
  
He waits outside with his book bag, waiting for the strict Professor to let his friends out of her razor-sharp grasp. Finally, the bell rings and the door slams open, knocking him completely over. James, Remus, and Lily walk out to find him sprawled on the floor, cursing up a storm and holding his nose, which was now bleeding, however faintly.  
  
"Uhh. smooth," is James's one of a kind remark. Across his face is his trademark lopsided grin, his own baby blue eyes dance with enthusiasm and laughter. He finally can't help himself as Remus starts to double over in laughter and he begins to let out a chuckle, which turns quickly into a storm of hooting and cackling.  
  
"This your way of making me laugh, dear? 'Cuz it ain't working, I'm sorry to say." Lily replies over James's guffawing and Remus's roaring. She talks in a calm, controlled voice, but her eyes show laughter, begging to be set free.  
  
"Lily, you always were a hypocrite!" Sirius exclaims through his hand as he spies her dancing eyes as the corners of her mouth start to twinge up in a smile.  
  
"Not hypocritical, dear Sirius. Just duplicitous." She replies with a sassy grin. "I read it in a book," she explains quietly before grasping Sirius's hand with her own paler one. "Come on, you'd definitely want to use this to miss Potions."  
  
Sirius grins as the he, Remus, and James make their way down to the hospital wing, with Lily following slightly behind, not quite sure where she's going. He would win her over. He doesn't know why she's so shy now, but she'd go back to her old ways. He's sure. She will. Of course she will. After all, she's with him, Sirius Black!  
  
***  
Lily lies on her bed in her dorm. Sirius's face had stopped bleeding in about 2 minutes but he had then told the nurse that the door must have done a few other things to him, making up things as he went along, letting them get worse and worse. Finally he had said his arm and two ribs were broken, and the nurse had insisted he stay the night, obviously concerned the blow didn't addle his brain. So now the 'Great Sirius Black' was the 'Temporarily Out But Soon To Be Better Than Ever Sirius Black,' must to her delight.  
  
She blinks, jumping slightly as Pyro bounds onto her bed, starting his own scratching post on her leg. She lets out a surprised cry and grabs the large dog-like cat, placing him on her lap, stoking him gently until his large fluffed out head lays still on her knee, his body making the whole bed vibrate with purrs as only he could. She stares into his coat. Dappled light and dark brown.  
  
It reminded her of her father's eyes. Flecked different colors, green among them. He had always had the most unusual eyes, and Lily had always told him she could make people notice them much easier if he'd only let her apply a bit of mascara and eye liner. She'd done it once, actually, while he slept. The consequences wouldn't have been so pretty if her father was anybody but the man he was. Was. The word rings through her head. Was. He's gone now. No use remembering him. Memories can't conjure up real people, even in this world.  
  
She is brought back to reality with a startled cry as a head crashes through her curtains. It's long, pale, with hazel eyes and dusty brown hair, spiked in all directions and lighter at the tips. Instantly, it's joined by another, not as thin, with one silver studded earring and black hair which juts out in every which direction. Remus and James were in her bedroom. (A/N: tempted to leave you here, but I hate short chapters. Love me)  
  
***  
  
"Oof. That was my toe Remus!"  
  
"It wasn't me!"  
  
"Lily!"  
  
"You have big toes!" The redhead whispers harshly to James. "Don't see why we have to hide under this thing, it's clunky, and anybody could hear us a mile away anyw-" She's cut short as they near the hospital wing and a large, scrawny looking cat with unnaturally golden eyes prowls by, obviously in search of 'evil-doers.'  
  
"That's why." James replies, luckily not catching the whack Lily sends his way. "Alohamora," he mutters, wand in hand and a faint click is heard as they swing the door open, revealing a completely empty room with neat beds lined up along both walls. All neat, that is, with the exception of one. One specific one, which contains short brown hair, and a loud snoring being.  
  
They all jog over as Lily snatches the cloak off, muttering about breathing being at the top of her list, thank you. All three shuffle until they completely enclose the small cot which Sirius lays upon, snoring heavily, his mouth open, Adam's apple bobbing up an down so hyperactively, you'd think it was an Elmer's Cookies elf.  
  
James withdraws his wand once more, placing it to Sirius's temple, looking up to the others, and a lopsided smirk upon his face. "Say the word, and we'll go into his dreams. Should be entertaining, and quite useful for blackmai-"  
  
With that both of the other teens instantly mutter, "word," and James's grin grows even wider. All of them feel a strange bubbly feeling come over their limbs as James mutters one simple word, each of them falling to the floor at the same time, all in peaceful bliss, body's in front of the cot, minds inside The Great Sirius's head.  
  
***~~~***  
  
I've been such a bad author. *whap* I'm evil. I admit it. I would give stupid excuses such as 'school, friends, and sports were keeping me busy' but I know you don't want to hear it, so I'm skipping that. I'll just say I was at my favorite story, (Denial, it's on my favorite's list, you should go read it ^-^) and I decided to re-read my reviews for some insane reason. Then I found out this is on somebody's favorite list after only 2 chapters, and I decided to come back.  
  
Wow. How inspiring. Anyways. Onto the things you actually read.  
  
I couldn't help it; we need to have a look inside a fourteen-year-old wizard's head. Why? Because. I said so. Will it be dramatic and dark and remind Lily of her past, or will it be filled with marshmallows with appetites? I don't quite know yet. Review and tell me. If you don't, I'll draw numbers from a hat. Fear the hat. The hat knows all.  
  
It's shorter than the others, I know, its only almost 4 pages. But I haven't started on my homework yet, so I'll hopefully update again before Friday. After that, I'm off at a soccer tournament, all weekend. Should be fun, but it's our last one until the season's officially over and the team is broken up. So, bear with me.  
  
I know. it seems like a pointless chapter, but it isn't, I promise. I just need time to show Lily starting to come out of her shell. :D  
  
Anyways.. *cough* I'm done, and please, still review, we're back, I'll be trying to update as much as possible! Tell people about us, we need more. Because I'm American, and the bigger is always the better. Phsaw.  
  
I *heart* you all.  
  
-Kin 


	4. The Welcome Back

Title: Hate to Say I Told You So  
  
Author: Child of the Wolves  
  
Summery: Takes place when Lily is seven, she lives in London with her mother, and her father lives in New York. One night, Lily's mom leaves and doesn't come back and Lily is sent away from her home to live with her father. Seven years later, about a quarter through her fourth year at Polion, her wizarding school, her father dies of cancer and she is sent straight to Hogwarts to finish off the quarter. Once the quarter is finished Lily goes back to her mother for the winter holidays, but she's met with a surprise.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it... ext. ext. I hate disclaimers.  
  
***  
  
"Holy shit, man." Remus looks taken aback. All around them, there were tiny rabbits, and grass covered hills with candy growing out of the dirt, topped off with a huge rainbow.  
  
"What a dream," comments Lily, as she breaks off a piece of a candy cane, growing out of the earthen ground. The whole place shakes as she does so and she instantly draws her hand away from it, letting the huge red and white swirled candy fall to the ground. "What? I didn't do it!"  
  
"Do what, Lils?"  
  
"That's the Spirit, Remus."  
  
As they start to walk together in a frightened, huddle up bunch, they pass signs with random squiggles on them, and arrows points in direction. Some with obscene pictures next to them, which could only exist in Sirius's mind.  
  
"Oh Sirius. that's sick." Lily sighs as she stares at one of the signs, an arrow point northeast with a revolting sketch upon it. "Horses and Pigs can't do that, you freak."  
  
They all quickly take the closest path away from the Horse sign, going southwest. Soon, they find a beaten dirt path, worn with age and wear, and then a small village. The door swings as they enter a restaurant. Sitting at tables are tiny midgets eating bananas. Remus and Lily turn to James as though clearly stating, 'this is all you're fault and we hate you for it.'  
  
"What'll it be, dudes?" A small midget woman dressed in a long maroon dress robe with pigtails questions them, cocking her head in a child like manner.  
  
"One, please."  
  
"One what?"  
  
"You know what."  
  
"Coming right up."  
  
"This is getting too weird for me, James," Remus mumbles as they sit at a tiny preschool green and yellow plastic table. The woman comes back with a few glasses of thick oily yellow stuff, which sprouts immense amounts of steam from it. Of course, topped with umbrellas. "Nope, too weird!"  
  
With that, the frightened Remus grabs James's wand and mutters a few words, and they all wake up, gasping in fright at Sirius's chaotic dream.  
  
"Lets never speak of this again." Lily sighs in a hushed voice. If she remembered that when she graduated, it'd be too soon.  
  
"Agreed," James replies as Remus echoes the words after him.  
  
***~~~***  
  
"WHOO! Winter break! WHOO!" Sirius cries at the top of his lungs as they all pour out of the school, Remus pounding James on the back with a snowball. It breaks, snow cascading down his back, creating a shower for all around him.  
  
Lily snorts as she stands, watching, a girl with long waist length brown hair and long, dark eyelashes standing next to her.  
  
The boys were fine, but when it came to other issues, Lily desperately needed a female friend. And a female friend she had found. Sienna had been a best friend with the three other girls who shared their dorm. But a fight had broken loose halfway into third year, leaving her to pick up the peaces. Lily had yet to find out what the fight was about, but since then, the hazel haired girl had created a wall, letting no emotions out. That is, until she met Lily.  
  
As it turns out, Sienna's parents were divorced as well, and her mother was dead, so she went to live with her father, stepmother, and stepsiblings, Eryca and Logan, during the holidays. She never complained about them, but she never said anything positive about them either.  
  
"Rain drops are falling on my head!" screams Sirius into the sky as snow starts to gently descend from the heavens. "But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turni- UGH!"  
  
A giggle from Lily turns into a chuckle, and guffaw, and soon into a hoot of laughter as Sienna stands nearby, looking as innocent as possible, all the while whipping her slippery, damp hands on the back of her robes.  
  
"Oh that's it. You're dead." Sirius cries, flinging himself after Sienna, an Indian war cry escaping his lips. As he busies himself with the coffee-haired teen, Lily busies herself creating a snowball of mass proportion. Finally, she gives up, breaking the snowball, which is the size of her head, in two, to chuck at both Remus and James.  
  
But before she can deal out her dooms day devices, a large amount of snow comes crashing onto her head, making her loose ringlets of auburn curls damp with moister and cling to her head. She opens her emerald eyes furiously, looking up. "James Potter, you're gonna get it!"  
  
With that, she jumps up, carrying both of the huge snowballs in either one of her hands. She chucks one of them at him and it hits his back. He looks back, his messy hair covering the top of his laughing baby blue eyes. She takes her opportunity, throwing the second, watching as it hits him straight in the face. "Hah!" Her success, however, is quickly damped as she shrieks and runs away as the boy pulls a snowball from under his robe sleeves, racing after her.  
  
Lily races at her full speed, which is unsurprisingly quick, with her lithe build and petite body structure. She makes her way towards the forest, hearing James's ever-present footsteps behind her. From what seems far off in the distance, she can just make out another war cry and Sienna mock shriek in return. She laughs, turning her head around to see how far James was behind her. Oops. Mistake.  
  
She misses a large root, hidden in the snow, and instantly sprawls over it. But her foot latches into the small hole as the rest of her body goes forward. Letting a cry of surprise exit her mouth, her eyes instantly begin to water. She had broken a bone only once, and it had been her toe when she had kicked a ball too hard in elementary school. But pain instantly screams through her body, causing her vivid eyes to water even more.  
  
"Lily! Lily, are you ok?"  
  
"Yea, peachy, James. Never been better. Say how's a game of chess?" she says, sarcasm dripping from her voice.  
  
He bends down, unlatching her foot from the disfigured root, ignoring her comment. Examining it, he rotates the ankle one-way, and then the other. "Does this hurt?"  
  
A quick slap on his hand to get him away from the ankle tells him yes, it does indeed hurt. Groaning slightly, he bends over and lifts the fourteen year old in his arms and makes his way down the trail.  
  
***~~~***  
  
"Well, we'll have you fixed up fine, broken bones aren't difficult to mend." Exclaims Madam Lorienna, the school nurse, with a tone a bit too happy for Lily's own liking. The middle-aged plump lady walks over to a few cabinets, bustling through them, mixing ingredients. The three boys and Sienna all sit by the bed she rests upon, her swollen ankle resting at the end. All they can do is watch, James with a guilty look upon himself. She reads him like a book.  
  
"James. You didn't do anything. I'm stupid. It's my fault."  
  
"I shouldn't have chased you."  
  
"Dude.. Prongs. shut. up." Comes a smart mouth remark from Sirius. Lily shoots him a grateful look. She's not too great with accepting or making apologies. It just felt awkward.  
  
Madam Lorienna makes her way back to the bed, placing a foaming goblet next to Lily's bed on a stand. "Just drink that in one gulp. The whole thing, mind you, we don't want you growing any extra bones." She laughs. Lily however, looks at her as though she's mad. She instantly picks up the goblet, gulping it all down in one breath, though it wasn't exactly an easy task with all four friends next to her bedside chanting 'Chug, chug, chug, chug."  
  
She rotates her ankle around. It's still sore. But oh well. Who cares? The bone was mended, that's what matters.  
  
"Now you should stay the night and keep the ankle elevated-"  
  
"No, I'm fine," Lily, cries, jumping off the bed, cringing as she lands on the ankle. She immediately waltzes out of the room with Sirius (literally) before the nurse can make her stay.  
  
***~~~***  
  
"My god, Sirius, you suck! Can't you see you're tower, right there!?" James cries at Sirius on the train. The two brown haired boys, Sirius and Remus, were playing a game of Chess while James had taken the job of pointing out every one of Sirius's false moves. James was the one who taught both wizarding chess, but he had taught Remus first, giving the friendly boy much more of an advantage.  
  
Lily and Sienna sit in the corner of the large compartment, talking in whispers, both of their makeup is spread out on the seats and Lily is currently painting Sienna's toes with a magical beige nail polish which sparkles different shades of gold and brown once applied. Sienna is adding eye shadow to Lily's semi-pale eyelids. Ever since she had arrived at Hogwarts, she had been attempting feebly to get a tan. It was finally starting to show up, her faint freckles were almost invisible now, to her great delight.  
  
"James. God. Shut. Up!"  
  
"Yes. I am James. I am God. I know. I know," James replies sassily, avoiding a back swing of Sirius's at his head. He slowly backs off- Sirius was the Gryffindor beater- he was strong. Rolling his eyes, he heads off to look at what the girls were doing. She instantly makes a face at the scent of the nail polish. Lily sticks her tongue out at him, crossing her eyes on purpose before going back to Sienna's feet.  
  
Muttering about toe fetish's, James walks towards the door of the compartment, ready to open it as it swings open on it's own. Behind it is the fifth year Gryffindor prefect, Arthur Weasley. "Hey James!" Exclaims the freckled red headed boy. "We'll be getting there in about 5 minutes, so you'd better get out of those robes." With that, he pivots to the side, opening the next door, and exclaiming the same thing. "Be sure not to be redundant and repeat yourself," James yells out after him before closing his doors and removing his robes, showing his muggle clothing.  
  
"Arthur says we'll be there soon. Lily, crack a window or something, god that smells worse than the locker room after Sirius takes his socks off!" He ducks to avoid Sirius's shoe, which had conveniently dropped off into Sirius's hand when he bent over to tie it and had mysteriously made it's way over to James's head on it's own.  
  
Lily raises her head, her eyes suddenly full of emotion. Dead. Fear. A bit of Nausea. This was the first Christmas she would be spending with her mother since she was seven. What would she look like? The fourteen year old doesn't even remember, it was too long ago, and she had blocked all those memories out on purpose.  
  
She removes her black robes and puts on a long, black trench coat with huge holes in between each stitching. She had gotten it from Remus as an early Christmas present, since she couldn't wear her warm robes in the muggle world.  
  
"It'll be fine. You're Lily. You're loveable. It's who you are." Sienna says with a reassuring smile. She hadn't told Sirius why she had come back, but Sienna had known for weeks. The redhead knows Sirius would be depressed, he had known Lily's father for a short time, and they had always gotten along. Sienna had never known the man, too bad for her.  
  
She replies with a weak, half-hearted smile. The train slows as they reach the station and then comes to a halt. Staring out the window, she spies loads of parents who resemble their children. A man with flaming red hair and a tall lady with a willowy figure wave to Anther, and Lily spies who she's sure is James's mother. She has dancing brown eyes and a head full of long wavy ebony hair, which she wears in a simple ponytail. James grins to her and waves. A small girl at her side waves back, she wears her dark brown hair in pigtails and she's missing her front teeth.  
  
The Hogwarts Express comes to a slow and the five friends jumps off the train, handing each other their luggage. After a lot of hugs and even more promises to write, they all go off on their own. Lily looks around, hopeless. How could she know whom to go to? She didn't know what the woman looked like. She waves as Sienna leaves with a glum look upon her face as a small girl with tight curly hair hugs her limp body.  
  
"Lily?" She spins around. Who was that? Was it her? Her heart jumps. A woman stands behind her. She has long deep red gold hair, which falls down her back in loose curls. She had Lily's hair. She puts on a smile. This was she. The woman whom she'd thought the most of since she'd heard of her father's cancer.  
  
"Mum.?" Lily's heart starts beating again. Thump.. thump.. thump, steady and rhythmic. It would all be fine. Her mother had changed. She must have, she had come, after all. How she had found the way to Platform 9 ¾ doesn't cross her mind.  
  
A man behind the tall woman whom Lily hadn't seen for seven years comes up, holding her around the waist. Lily immediately backs away. For the first time, her hand glances to her mother's hand. A slender band of white gold encircles her right ring finger.  
  
Her mother had remarried.  
  
"Daniel. this is Lily. Lily, this is Daniel." Lily's newfound mother says, an unsure look upon her face. She didn't know how Lily had been brought up all these years. *She doesn't know how I'll react.* Lily realizes with a start. *She doesn't know me, she can't expect what I'll do next.*  
  
Lily extends a shaky hand to Daniel, ready to accept the inevitable, but before she can a little girl with light blond hair, a light complexion, and a pink shirt on runs up and hugs his leg, a cheery smile upon her thin face. Lily immediately stops in midair, her hand moving not a muscle. Who was this little ankle-biter?  
  
"Lily.. This is Petunia."  
  
She drops her hand to her side and shakes her head as though to clear it. She must be hearing things. Her mother knows this girl. She looks back up to Daniel and Julie, her mother. "Pardon? I just hallucinated. What now?"  
  
Julie decides to rephrase. "Lily. this is.. Petunia. You're half- sister."  
  
***~~~***  
  
Like it? I know, I haven't got many reviews recently. I'm a bad, bad person. ;) but you still love me, right? You should. Because I loooove you. Review and I'll love you more =P  
  
I don't want to stretch the story out loads and make like 50 chapters, so I decided to put more content in one chapter. It's 6 pages (be proud) and it's got more Lily/James bonding and also the big 'surprise' that will probably change Lily forever.  
  
I haven't yet decided whether or not to make this James/Lily or Sirius/Lily. Review and let me know because I'm lost.  
  
*heart* you all. Review, review, review!  
  
~Kin 


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